You’d think there is no similarity between the man who ordered the deaths of millions but made the USSR great by leading the effort to defeat Hitler and the guy who only ordered the detention of a few S’poreans without trial and was the US’s boy in the region.

But they led modest lifestyles. We know all about Harry’s frugal lifestyle.

But Stalin too had led frugal lifestyle (boozing apart)

Stalin’s dacha in Sochi (where he spent four months in every year)

is decidedly modest. Its only luxuries are a small cinema where the dictator watched Charlie Chaplin’s films, a tiny swimming pool, a billiard table and two large balconies.

says the Economist in contrast it says to the lavish palaces of Mr Putin.

When I’m sure true blue S’poreans will not use these kind of devices (honourable, KS or juz stupid u decide), can’t say the same about PRCs and Indian Indians sitting for exams here. In China and India heating in exams is an accepted and tolerated practice, a fact well documented fact.

And the PAP administration allows their graduates in by the cattle-truck load? And 70% of the voters vote PAP?

In the FT, Tim Bradshaw wrote when the EU Commission said Apple owed billions (US$14.5bn ) in taxes: “The damning verdict and huge headline bill from Brussels could tarnish [chief executive] Tim Cook’s efforts to position the company as a defender of civil rights and bastion of social responsibility.”

Last year, a 32-year-old Indian security guard in Australia accused of stalking two women was let off by a court after he argued that Bollywood films had led him to believe that it was “quite normal behaviour” for Indian men to obsessively target women.

He was being perversely honest. In Bollywood movies, the hero will often pursue the heroine with a vengeance. He will stare at her, wolf-whistle and stalk her relentlessly. Spurned lovers will chase and harass women. A critic once wrote that the Bollywood stalker had evolved from a “nominal villain to an outright hero”.

Or why when my handphone won’t work when S’pore stops 2G service next year, I’ll get a Google Pixel.

Taz the least that I can do when Google, has pledged its commitment to the Pink Dot event (Let me be clear, I’m a singleton but I’m not a LGBT and if I were I certainly shout it out over the roof-tops. )

“We’ve been proud supporters of Pink Dot since 2011 and we will continue to show our commitment to diversity and inclusion. So, we will apply for a permit to support Pink Dot in 2017 if required by this new regulation. We hope that these new rules will not limit public discussion on important issues,” said a Google spokesperson on Friday (Oct 21).

Let’s see if these ang mohs got balls and walk the talk, or kowtow because there’s good money to be made here. From their responses so far (They followed the S’porean practice of sitting down and shutting up), they’ll kowtow. In particular, the three investment bank sponsors (Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Barclays) are always after SWFs, TLC and GLCs biz

MNCs behaving like their local fans

An FT columnist wrote:

I contacted the 10 most prominent sponsors to ask whether they planned to support Pink Dot next year. Barclays, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, BP, Bloomberg and Twitter said they had nothing to say.

Facebook and Apple did not reply. Google said: “We’ve been proud supporters of Pink Dot since 2011.”

GE said: “We respectfully voice our support for equality in countries where we do business, consistent with governing laws and customs.”

Neither said whether it would support the event next year.

And here’s a constructive, nation-building suggestion for the organising committee. Show S’poreans that the LGBT movement here is not a vover for a CIA or MI6 plot to subvert our Asian values: crowd source money from locals and publicise the amounts raised.

But this could backfire because I’m sure the LGBT crowd here are real S’poreans: cheapos not willing to pay for the biggest pick-up event in the region: a region where homosexuality is haram and where unlike S’pore people can be killed for being LGBT.

Thinking about it, the LGBTs should be a solid vote bank for the PAP given that their “deviancy” is no excuse for assaulting or murdering them. But then being real S’poreans, they are not grateful people.

By BLOOMBERG

The acquisitive Chinese conglomerate’s potential bid for the Singapore logistics operator CWT could be delayed until at least the end of the year, people with knowledge of the matter said. HNA is considering changes to the deal structure and still deciding which of its many entities will make the offer, the people said.

Whatever we may think about the First Lady of M’sia (FLOM) and her hubbie (First Man of M’sia? FMOM?), let’s give them credit for one thing. They’ve not played the “S’pore” card that Tun M and other M’sian polticians used to play. They’d bash S’pore to distract attention from their actions. They’d blame their problems on S’pore’s machinations into M’sian politics.

If the following actions had been carried out when Tun M was PM, our water supply would have been cut:

— S’porean authorities investigated the circumstances in which US$681m moved from a S’pore-based bank (Falcon Bank) into a M’sian account of FMOM and then FMOM transferred US$620m back to Falcon. Falcon Bank’s local unit was ordered to close.

— They also investigated BSI Bank’s local unit over fund flows linked to Malaysia’s 1MDB. BSI’s local unit was shut down in May on account of financial irregularities and its officers were charged in connection with the probe.

Dr M still not sarisfied, has problems with S’pore

Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has attacked Singapore’s handling of alleged money-laundering linked to Malaysian state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhard (1MDB), accusing the Republic of not targeting those accused of siphoning off more than billions from the fund.

“Notice that the Government of Singapore is very reluctant to pinpoint the people involved in this corruption,” Dr Mahathir said in an interview with The Financial Times. “It affects Singapore’s reputation as a financial centre. It is not doing the right thing. The people who accepted the bribes are not the people who are laundering the money.”

Today

Despite all these actions, there were no accusations from FMOM or his ministers that S’pore was acting against M’sian national interests. If these investigation had happened during Dr M’s premership, he’d have declared war or, worse, cut iff the water supply. At the very least, ties between the two countries would be very chilly.

Instead the love-fest initiated by both PMs continues. We should thank Najib for his maturity.

Gregory (Scotland Yard detective): “Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?”

So we know now that two of StarHub’s recent disruptions are not the fault of StarHub (Btw, its fibre broadband sucks. Reminds me of the internet dial-up age, at times: can go make coffee, go to the loo while waiting for a connection. Shouldn’t have accepted the “cheap” package on offer.)

The two disruptions that StarHub broadband subscribers experienced last Saturday (Oct 22), and again, on Monday (Oct 24), was caused by a cyberattack, the telco said late on Tuesday, adding that it was keeping its eyes on possible follow-up attacks.

StarHub said it has completed inspections and analysis of its network logs, and “we are now able to confirm that we had experienced intentional and likely malicious distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on our Domain Name Servers (DNS)”.

Sounds a tad too convenient for my cynical taste buds.

Bet the third attack will also be blamed on hackers. Bit like a student telling his teacher that the maid spilled coffee/ curry/ soup over his homework.

———————

“The dog ate my homework” is an English expression purported to be a favorite excuse made by schoolchildren explaining their failure to turn in an assignment on time.

Wikipedia

—————————

But as SMRT is staffed by an ex-SAF general and there are lots of LTCs and majors skivving, this smoke throwing excuse should have first been tot of by SMRT, not StarHub. But then the StarHub CEO is a FT, not a scholar and retired general.

At a conference this month to deepen the Communist Party’s so called “dialogue with the world”, senior party members explained the benefits of the Party’s brand of consultative democracy.

Yang Rui for example, a well-known anchor on China’s state television, told me it was a mistake to use the ballot box to decide everything “because you have to suppose every voter is rational and reasonable”. He pointed to the American election campaign as an example of debased populism that threatens to entrench division and triviality.

“People seem to forget serious issues. They talk about sex, locker room conversation, men and lousy behaviour. Debates are getting nasty and that undermines the strength of Western democracy.” [Could PAP apologist Kishore talking.]

Fang Xinghai, another senior Party member and vice chair of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said the strength of China’s consultative system is the intense deliberation which takes place behind closed doors inside the Party itself. [Could VivianB or Tharman talking.]

“This has allowed China forty years of uninterrupted growth within a stable system. Quiet deliberation is a more effective form of policy than a public shouting match, because policy making is complicated.” [Could LKY, GCT, PM or Tharman talking.]

These are people with enormous exposure to western political culture who believe China’s one party system can compete on the delivery of public goods.

In an echo of the mandarin class who ruled China for centuries through the imperial civil service, they defend the legitimacy of a policy making elite. And they don’t want for ambition.

1 The head of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, which represents 12,000 companies, says firms are not expecting a swift recovery like that which followed the financial crisis.

“This is not ’08-’09, it’s not a V-shape. It’s a sustained, deep-end plateau,” said president Kurt Wee. “Industrial support industries or building contractors and oil and gas are very badly affected and that has a broad based effect on everything else on the ground.”

2 “When you talk to building infrastructure groups, it sounds depressing,” said Kong, who faces a 10-15 percent sales drop this year, the firm’s first in its five-year history.

“Everyone seems to be asking ‘what’s going to happen to me in three months?’ Companies are not getting the orders, there are fixed overheads, so the first thing they do is slash marketing budgets and the next thing is they cut the number of people.”

Technically, it may only be a slow down but as a PAP Old Guard minister (Ong Pang Boon when describing how to identify communists) once said

If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it is a duck

So where are the measures PAP to counter a recession? Waiting for Chrismas isit?

And for those ang moh tua kees and TRE nuts and Indian supremacists from “The Idiots — S’pore” (TISG is what it calls itself) who think the sun shines out of Tharman’s ass, the light they see is the PAP juggernaut out to crush fools like them.

There’s been no outcry, calls for protest, outpourings of sympathy for Mother Mary’s boy wonder despite three rabid anti-PAP sites, The Idiots– S’pore (Or TISG as it calls itself, And yes I know it calls itself “a useful loudhailer”for the PAPpies and a commercial news agency. But I like to call a “mongrel” a “mongrel”, not a “x-breed”.), ASS and States Times screaming “assault”:

We have also been informed that he has been threatened, slapped on the back and kicked while he was climbing up the stairs. A complaint has been lodged with the Prison Authorities, who had efficiently replied to say they will look into the matter. Amos’ mother has put in an urgent request for Amos to be moved to Home Detention.

As TRE pointed out “threatened, slapped on the back and kicked while he was climbing up the stairs” is simply bullying.

And S’poreans know it, the boys having done NS (something Boy Wonder and Mother Mary is not for him: a whiter than white white horse isit?). So they know BS when they read it, even the cybernuts of TRELand and TISG Slum. Hence the lack of sympathy even from the nuts.

Waz more interesting, is that the ang moh kay pohs and their S’porean sycophants too have moved on for good. Once upon a time, they’d scream “Torture!”

We don’t hear from Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch, nor Maruah nor AWARE. They were once vocal champions of Amos. And where’s Mad Dog? I mean there’s no by-election to fight.

————————————————

Gregory (Scotland Yard detective): “Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?”

He has served his purpose as an instrument to attack the administration of justice here. Their caravan has moved on, in search of the next instrument to attack the PAP administration, the administration of justice etc.

“I decided that a much better place than the law for me was the professional telling of lies. That’s what filmmaking is”, Michael Donovan who produced movies including the Oscar-winning Michael Moore documentary Bowling for Columbine.

…

Michael was able to start acquiring what now totals about 10% of all the existing animated TV material for some very low prices.

Is Mark Zuckerberg sucking up to the PAP as part of his efforts to suck up to China ala Duterte?

Two tua kee socio-political sites (even though one says it’s a commercial news agency cum loudhailer for the govt and its agencies and not a socio-political site) are heavily dependent on Facebook to push out (“promote”) their stuff and so help them get views and ad revenue. Their readers are too cheap skate or really that poor? Or not willing to pay for BS even when they consume it avidly?

This reliance on Facebook was especially useful post the GE when readership fell across the board affecting ad income. Problem is that Facebook has tweaked its algorithms (as it does periodically).

It’s latest tweak in June means that it more favorably promotes content posted by the friends and family of users, not publishers (Our anti-PAP sites, like all socio-political sites are considered publishers or news sites by Facebook).

It says that content posted by publishers will show up less prominently in news feeds, resulting in significantly less traffic to the hundreds of news media sites that have come to rely on Facebook.

This means that these sites get less traffic, a lot less. And a lot loss viewers and even less ad revenue.

NYT in June reported:

Facebook said it expected a drop in reach and referral traffic for publishers whose audience comes primarily to content posted by the publisher’s official Facebook page. Facebook plans to start making the changes as soon as this week.

It will have less of an impact, however, if most of a publisher’s traffic comes from individual users sharing and commenting on their stories and videos. As has long been the case, publisher content that your friends interact with will appear higher in the feed compared to posts shared directly by a publisher.

Actually any third-party stuff on the publishers’ FB pages also gets fewer pushes

What this means is that when Chris K posts something of mine on his FB page, I’ll get a lot more hits than if it’s posted by ownself on SGDaily’s Facbook page: better promotion by FB. No wonder Daniel Yap of TMG is pushing out a lot more TMG pieces on his personal FB wall. Smart man.

Maybe Terry should be doing the same for TOC? And Ravi for TISG when it runs constructive, nation-building, loudhailing stuff that S’poreans really need to know.

And pay Chris K to push out their stuff. After all both publications use him to attract the cybernuts even though he’s no nut. He’s a pensioner. Either that or persude him to do NS and promote their pieces for free.

Or pay FB to promote their stuff. FB is happy to push if it’s paid to promote.

Money talks.

And yes I’m simplifying what the tweaks are doing and why FB is doing what is it doing.

I tot Peenoys pride themselves on their ability to speak English fluently? They mangle the English language.

A S’porean who has Pinoy ties says on FB that Duterte has “delivered”. When I asked what he has delivered as he can only killed less than 3,000 Pinoys when he wanted to kill 3m, he told me to find out for myself. I said his failure to send me a link on what Duterte has “delivered” allows me to draw my own conclusions. It’s all a lot of BS.

It will be a nightmare. Traffic will be gridlocked. There’ll be fights and in the US, killings.

A robot car’s

sensors could decide that it’s only safe to overtake when there’s no oncoming traffic at all. On a busy road at school home time, this may be never, leading to increasingly exasperated passengers and increasingly angry drivers queuing behind.

And how will a robot car nudging out from a T-junction into oncoming traffic be able to make the necessary eye contact with a human driver?

Google’s test cars have now racked up more than two million fully-autonomous miles of driving on public roads in California, Arizona, Texas and Washington, reporting a handful of minor accidents to the Californian authorities.

Interestingly, quite a few of these accidents have involved human-driven vehicles going into the back of the Google cars, suggesting perhaps that the ultra-cautious robots, with safety as their first priority, are more timid in their approach than we’re used to.

Read this article from NYT’s Dealbook and decide if the rise and rise of property prices (OK stalled now) has been good for society here?

In making up your mind pls remember

— the PAP administration’s assertion that selling HDB flats at “lower” prices is raiding the reserves and

— that after the Oppo won four seats in 1991, the PAP started the asset enhancement policy. Among its stated objectives was to make the price of HDB flats cheong so that when old, S’poreans can cash out and downgrade. Cashing out time has come: really can cash out now meh?

From the desk of Tan Kin Lian, retired CEO of NTUC Income, and an actuary.

Financial Services Consumer Association

I have updated a few articles on financial planning and insurance in the FISCA website. They answered questions that were sent to me by ordinary people. You may find these articles to be useful and relevant.

Jihadists terrorists cause great inconvenience and discomfort to Muslim travellers because the latter too are tarred by the same brush. And sadly as this BBC article (http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33677946) showed, a widely used major data base had serious flaws.

Other officer: Err, we had another name like yours, with same surname too.

Me: From Singapore? I can guarantee you there is none.

We both know why it was only me who had to go through this, and no one else. Let’s not pretend.

——

The reality is Muslims are the biggest victims of terrorism, whether directly or otherwise.

The above received this comment

Happens to me as well when I was going to Boston.. they hold me in the holding room and their reason for holding me – there is 13 people on the terrorist list with my exact name… I ask them – are they from Singapore… they didn’t answer… sigh… best part when they finally let me off after about 8 hours of holding me, one of the custom ask me to change my name!!

Be prepared

Racial profiling:

New York remains one of the world’s best-prepared cities for a terrorist attack. Since 2001 the police department has ramped up its counter-terrorism activities. It has built up its own intelligence-gathering department by hiring native speakers of Dari, Urdu, Pashto and Arabic.

(Sorry can’t remember where I took this from)

————————————————————————-

And this

In Australia, if you have a Muslim name, don’t bother going through the self-help biometric scanning machine. You will get a message directing you to a manual clearance counter. Recently when I was leaving Sydney, I was directed to use the machine, even though I wanted a manual clearance. I told the officer that it will be pointless as I have a Muslim name. He was clearly uncomfortable with my statement and true enough, the process failed and I had to go through manual clearance. What irks me is these Islamophobic officers dare not call a spade a spade. They shy away from telling you straight in the face that “yes, you are being discriminated because you are a Muslim”.

But the attack against the officer is unfounded. If he had agreed to screen her, it might be taken by human rights activists that the machines discriminated against Muslims. They’d sue.

Muslims travellers just have to accept that their fellow coreligionists are more to blame for their inconvenience and discomfort than govts who simply want to prevent murders and mayhem by violent people who just happen to be Muslims.

Joint naval patrols continue, as does co-operation in Mindanao; and America still has five bases on Philippine soil. The close working relationship with Filipino counterparts, the Americans insist, is as strong as ever. The Filipinos, for their part, report no change of orders from the new chief.

He has branded Barack Obama a “son of a whore” for criticising his “kill them all” war on drug dealers and addicts, which has claimed thousands of lives, many of them innocent. He has demanded an end to joint naval patrols and to America’s assistance in the southern jungles of Mindanao, where American special forces advise Filipino troops fighting against Abu Sayyaf, a violent group linked to al-Qaeda. And he has questioned whether America would honour its treaty obligation to come to the Philippines’ aid if the archipelago were attacked.

——————————————————————————-

Why he has been brown-nosing China’s ass?

He wants to see mangoes to China.

The Philippines had been plucky in standing up to China. But it has paid a price. Now, the goodies that China is dangling look irresistible. Mr Duterte wants lots of infrastructure, particularly railways. China is offering cheap loans. He wants the country to export more. China is offering to reopen its markets to Philippine fruit. He wants help with the war on drugs. A Chinese businessman is building a big rehab centre. And he wants Filipino fishermen to be able to return to their traditional fishing grounds around the Scarborough Shoal. China has told Philippine officials that it is open to an accommodation.

And he wants China to let in Pinoy maids. There are about 154,000 Pinoy maids working in HK legally. It’s illegal for them to work in China but the FT reports that there are about 200,000 working illegally there. And that the Pinoy govt wants to get China to allow them in legally

I’m surprised that TISG (or as it’s popularly known “The Idiots — S’pore”. To be fair, it’s had about six “idiot free” weeks broken only when a tua kee contributor was publicly annoyed with a misleading headline tp his article.), TOC (TOC only cut and paste a ST article on this death), SgDaily, Wandering Vagabond and other tua kees in the alternative media are not saying some official(s) should be held responsible for this death.

Why were they not listening to the voices of concerned, upset S’poreans and amplifying these voices? They were silent. Why liddat?

After all, the death occurred because there had been a decision to conduct a health screening and then action by public servants:

“The cow was roaming around happily. So what killed it? A health screening!”

The life of the Coney Island cow ended came to an unlucky end this week, when he failed to wake up after a routine veterinary check-up.

I mean the life of a local cow doesn’t matter isit? Or do the alternative media think it’s an FT so doesn’t matter? Yes it’s a cow from an Indian breed, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a true blue S’porean like our Tamil brothers and sisters. I mean we are OK with Tharman being a PM but not OK with an ethnic Indian cow isit, alternative media tua kees?

Younger S’poreans who can’t afford to misspend money on useless, unnecessary stuff should heed the wise words of Tan Kin Lian the ex-CEO of NTUC Income who was sadly persuaded by the likes of Goh Meng Seng to stand for president.

The message basically is “Don’t buy Integrated Plans. Juz rely on Medishield for all its flaws”:

When you buy an integrated plan, or go to a non-subsidized ward*, you are helping the government to reduce its subsidy. You get a ward with 4 patients** instead of 6 patients*** and have the chance to choose your doctor. In most cases, these differences do not really matter to the quality of the care. But you are paying a much bigger bill (due to lower government subsidy) and you have to pay a much higher premium (maybe 2 or 3 times) to cover this difference. Is this really necessary?

Someone who realised the folly of an integrated plan and wanted to revert was told

It is easy for you to convert back to Medishield Life. Call the insurance company and ask them if they will give you a pro-rata refund for the premium that you have paid for the integrated plan. If they can, you can convert immediately. If no, you can convert to Medishield Life at the next renewal date.

Older S’poreans who are well-off but cheapskates (otherwise known as “value for money” folks of which I’m one) use SingHealth, go to B2 wards and only have Medishield. The really hard-core try for C class but get found out and are whipped publicly.

Now their secrets on B2 and Medishield is public knowledge.

For those who voted against the PAP using SingHealth, B2 and only Medishield has another advantage. U can give the PAP the finger and have your cake and eat it. Eat yr heart out Queen Jos: us peasants (plebs) can be like millionaire ministers too. Have cake and eat it. And give the PAP the finger.

More on TKL

He lost his deposit in the PE, and thus indirectly helped the PAP’s prefered candidate to win. Bad advice and personal quirks made him look like a clown. He’s eccentric but no clown. I should know. I helped him help the mini-bonders (though sadly we didn’t help them that much) so I should know. But I fell out with him when he listened to “bad” advice. But to be fair, I’m not an easy person to work with.

Since the PE, he’s focused on his core competency of dishing out financial advice, Example

Financial Services Consumer Association

I have updated a few articles on financial planning and insurance in the FISCA website. They answered questions that were sent to me by ordinary people. You may find these articles to be useful and relevant.

Update on 20 October: CAN (a bunch of ang moh tua kees that Amos had dissed for not helping him: see link below) has alleged that he got beaten up in Changi Prison by fellow inmates.) Well, well.

We have also been informed that he has been threatened, slapped on the back and kicked while he was climbing up the stairs. A complaint has been lodged with the Prison Authorities, who had efficiently replied to say they will look into the matter. Amos’ mother has put in an urgent request for Amos to be moved to Home Detention.

Mother Mary’s full of BS. Home Detention so she can clean his ass for him?

Yup, he and she and made their beds, and must lie in the said beds.

————————————–

But first let’s talk about how the alternative media has been covering Amos recently. Huh you may ask? Coverage what coverage? And you are absolutely right.

Amos Yee went to prison on 13 October. Alternative media was silent except for a report by TRE.

Self-proclaimed genius teenage blogger Amos Yee is back in prison and will remain in there for at least the next 4 weeks (after remission).

Amos Yee (Photo: Terry Xu)

The 17-year-old was slapped with 8 charges, which were: 6 charges under section 298, and 2 charges under section 174 of the Penal Code.

It went on to list the charges.

Otherwise this once (and future hero?) of the alternative media, the ang moh tua kees and the cybernuts received no publicity showing that this ang moh kay poh was talking cock

The teenager’s latest trial was closely watched by rights groups, who argue that the case threatens freedom of expression.

Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch said Singapore now needs to review its approach in dealing with cases like Yee’s, who is likely to benefit from the publicity.

“Every time the authorities go after him, it just adds to his online audience,” said Mr Robertson in an email.

The authorities are waiting for a recession to happen before they act to mitigate its effects, say the govt and its running dogs allies in the media and academia and private sector.

Chris K, a cybernut hero (though he’s no nut) has been KPKBing (on FB) that in the West, the authorities start their mitigation measures before a recession hits. The only defence that the PA govt and central bank can make is that a recession may not happen.

Well given the following signs, does the PAP govt and its running dogs seriously expect that we won’t have a recession? So why not start the mitigating measures?

1 Exports in Singapore fell a disappointing 4.8 per cent in September, after flat growth the previous month, according to latest figures released by International Enterprise (IE) Singapore on Monday (Oct 17).

Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) were hit by a decline in both electronic and non-electronic exports.

Electronic shipments fell 6.6 per cent, following a 6 per cent decline the previous month. The contraction was largely due to ICs (-6.3 per cent), disk drives (-55 per cent) and parts of PCs (-22.4 per cent), IE Singapore said.

Non-electronic exports contracted 4 per cent, in contrast to a 2.7 per cent expansion the previous month. The decline was led by structures of ships and boats (-99.9 per cent), civil engineering equipment parts (-47.6 per cent) and petrochemicals (-6.5 per cent).

Overall, shipments to seven of Singapore’s top 10 markets fell, with Malaysia, Indonesia and the US leading the decline. Bucking the trend were exports to Hong Kong, the European Union and South Korea, which rose between 9.9 per cent and 23.8 per cent.

2 The Singapore dollar fell to a seven-month low on Friday (Oct 14), as a disappointing growth report card and a dovish policy statement from the central bank fuelled concerns over the outlook of the economy.Gross domestic product (GDP) for the third quarter grew by a slower-than-expected 0.6 percent on-year, compared with forecasts of 1.7 per cent from a Reuters poll. Economic growth also contracted 4.1 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis, well off expectations for 0.3 per cent growth.

3 Retail sales in Singapore fell 1.1 per cent in August compared with the previous year, with all sectors except motor vehicles in the red, according to figures released by the Department of Statistics (SingStat) on Friday (Oct 14).

4 While manufacturers have been under siege for some time on the back of flagging global trade, economists are also becoming concerned about the service sector. “The drag from (weak external demand) has now permeated into the core of the Singapore economy,” said Ms Ling.

The service sector has now logged three consecutive quarters of quarter-on-quarter contraction. The last time this happened was during the global financial crisis, said ANZ economist Ng Weiwen.

“(This reinforces) our view that tough times are here to stay for Singapore, with growth running the risk of remaining stuck in low gear,” he added.

A prolonged service sector slowdown will lead to more layoffs going into next year, given that the sector employs 72 per cent of the workforce, noted UOBeconomist Francis Tan. “We should be prepared for worse to come,” he added.

The only sector that logged an uptick in output in the third quarter was construction, which grew 2.5 per cent over last year.

Government forecasters expect growth to come in at the lower end of 1 per cent to 2 per cent this year.

Here’s the view of a regular commenter who has given valuable insights into our medical and healtcare complex, for example into Woodbridge and the SGH tragedy. He says he was a doctor, turned mecical administrator, turned fat cat. He’s anti-PAP but no nut.

What I find can be improved is Andrew’s billing for angiography. Even with overnight stay, it should be about $2,500 in total, and not $4000.

It became expensive for Andrew becoz SGH is charging him the procedure for PTCA (artery ballooning). But becoz it was a failed procedure, SGH could have waived more of its charges on good faith, particularly since Andrew was to follow up with his CABG operation in-lieu of the PTCA failure. [CI’s note: Err maybe he anti-PAP, so no pang chance? Maybe he realises this and now brown-nosing the system to get the benefit of the doubt in future?]

As for the comments by N.Jungne* extracted from TRE above: 1. Andrew didn’t show the actual billing for his CABG, only the Medisave deduction notice which of course doesn’t show all the details about daily claimable limits and deductibles and co-payments etc. You’ll need Andrew to show the actual bill AND the Medishield statement for all that.

2. Btw it wasn’t all 7 days in C-class ward — it was 4 days in C-class ward, and another 3 days in ICU & high dependency (HD) ward. Andrew didn’t breakdown how many days in ICU and HD ward. Both ICU & HD ward are single class (same ward & facilities whether you’re A-class patient or C-class patient). But C-class patient gets the subsidies while A-class patient doesn’t. However consultants & registrars tend to push C-class patients quickly out of ICU & HD ward as long they won’t die immediately. Unspoken hard truth in Singapore’s hospitals.

Of course daily claimable for ICU and HD are higher than for general ward.

What was in the Bill is true, the devil is in the detail. It (the bill) does not reflect the detail of how they come about (summarized).
1). The maximum daily deduction per day in “C-class” X 7 days
2). The deductible for “C-class.
3). The half of 15% co-payment.
Now there is another NEW category (I can’t remember), even a few $$$ can be deducted from our Medisave.
Andrew is not WRONG, they change and change until we are confused.
The QUESTION is WHY (they change).

Maybe the u/m from FT will explain why Queen Jos and Andrew Loh sound so alike in their whackiness? The former appears to believe that sex is meant for procreation only and the other seems to swallow, hook ‘line and sinker the PAP spin that public healthcare is cheap*. On the latter as I’ve wriiteh here

Going by what Andrew Loh has written, anti-PAPpies repent and say “Vote PAP” when they see that their medical bills are peanuts? LOL

David Dunning and Justin Kruger received an Ig Nobel prize in psychology for their discovery that incompetent people rarely realise they are incompetent; the Dunning-Kruger effect is now widely cited. FT

ANDREW LOH IS DEFINITELY NOT WRONG OF HIS FINANCIAL STATISTICS – it is his actual billing. But what he didn’t ask of obvious is this – was there over-priced billing in the first instance.

I saw a scanned copy of SGH’s colonoscopy bill of another – there was TWO facilities charges for one surgical procedure done – that is, there is a facilities charge for waiting area and another facilities charge for procedural surgery. The latter is comprehensible but the former (facilities charges sitting in the waiting room waiting to be call in for actual procedures) is mind-boggling. Why not also charge “facilities charge” for the patient’s relative sitting there waiting as well?

So the issue is the total billing and its details – the discount is rubbery fantasy of illusion -and of course the final billing. If Andrew Loh has expired all his Medisave account, HE WOULD STILL HAVE TO PAY THE AMOUNT OUTSTANDING OUT OF HIS POCKET.

Draining the balances of his CPF Medisave account must mean he has to top that up soon or sometime in the future. IT IS SEMANTIC OF ADVANTAGE ILLUSION – a bill is a bill and needs to be settled – one way or another unless it is free of universal health care like Medicare in Down Under.

What was in the Bill is true, the devil is in the detail. It (the bill) does not reflect the detail of how they come about (summarized).
1). The maximum daily deduction per day in “C-class” X 7 days
2). The deductible for “C-class.
3). The half of 15% co-payment.
Now there is another NEW category (I can’t remember), even a few $$$ can be deducted from our Medisave.
Andrew is not WRONG, they change and change until we are confused.
The QUESTION is WHY (they change).

When a republic was declared in 1912, there was no common spoken language in China. Yes, imperial officials had communicated in a tongue used by the elites in Beijing. But the rest of the vast country was linguistically fractured. Experts today identify half a dozen mutually unintelligible language groups spoken by Han Chinese, along with hundreds of dialects. (And that is before considering the languages of Tibetans, Uighurs, Mongols and many other non-Han peoples.) The lack of a common tongue has always seemed to threaten the daunting project of nation-building. Even to refer to different Chinese “languages” remains taboo—they must be “dialects”, or risk undermining the hallowed notion of “one China”.

It’s an ancient language — it’s not

The first committee to create a standard Chinese was convened in 1913. Many meetings later the choice fell on the Beijing vernacular as the basis. After they seized power in 1949, Mao and his fellow guerrillas (despite hailing from far-flung regions) retained this form, calling it putonghua, or “common language”. His enemies in Taiwan did so too, even though the island’s own dialects are very different from Beijing’s. Faraway Singapore adopted it as one of its “mother tongues”. My emphasis.

PRC Chinese speak it properly: they don’t

The education ministry says that 30% of the population in 2014, or roughly 400m, still could not speak standardised Mandarin, while only a tenth of those who could spoke it properly.

When he was six, his mother took him to Indonesia, where she had married a local man. There she began what became her magnum opus: a study of peasant blacksmiths on Java. It was a typical anthropological project, an attempt to understand how another tribe sees the world.

Obama ate dog, snake and grasshopper, learnt Bahasa Indonesian, and got used to children throwing stones at his black skin. Aged 10, he returned to Hawaii, where he was born, to live with his grandparents but he continued visiting his mother in Indonesia. He rarely discusses his Indonesian years, presumably because most US voters don’t like their leaders foreign, but this formative experience as a cultural outsider makes him almost unique among US presidents.

Until I learnt that a large percentage of the SGX REIT ETF is in Australian REITs: 60% to be precise. Now other than exposure to the A$, the commodity currency, the problem isAustralia has a withholding tax, currently at 15%.

It is also important to note that that the distributions paid by the pool of listed REITs are also subjected to Singapore corporate income tax rate which is currently at 17%. This tax is applicable at the fund level but not at the individual level.

Readers of this blog don’t usually read TRE except for laughs so I reproduce a piece from there because it’s a good piece that could have been written by rational, fair-minded cyber-warriors.

The piece reads:

Yesterday, many of you shared a statement by Minister of State Josephine Teo which said that couples did not need much space for sex and many of your readers threw shade at her. I am not sure if you read her full interview but your websites and readers have misunderstood and misquoted her statement. Most likely you have not even seen her interview and the context in which she said the phrase. Editors, you are malicious or grossly playful and did not bother with context.

Photo: Mr Brown

MOS Josephine Teo’s statement was in response to a question “Why couples with children were given priority to flats while couples without kids weren’t?”

It is because of this question that MOS Josephine Teo responded that couples with children should be given flats first and not those who were still deciding if they were going to have kids. It is precisely because those with children really need the space to raise their kids as opposed to couples who need space before procreating.

For goodness sakes Editors, get your context right before jumping to conclusions and sensationalising her statement. What she said made sense and it still does not, despite all your attempts to put her down. It is you who refuse to understand the context and tried to misle your readers into thinking that MOS Josephine spoke without thinking.

I know as alternative media you will surely censor my contribution. I hope you prove me wrong.

Selvam Raj

* The above was sent to another alternative media and is reproduced here for discussion. Ms Teo’s original interview with the Straits Times is available on Facebook (if it has not been deleted or amended yet).

Chris K one of the few sane bloggers in alternative media, on matters econimics and financial (Actually he’s the sanest voice on these topics in alternative media) speculates:

Watch for it. There may be a new GLC. And being one means it will at least initially be 100% owned by Temasek. And being 100% owned by Temaseek means, to use Senior Minister Josephine Teo’s words in Parliament a couple of years back, it will generate “good risk adjusted returns”. Like most GLCs, its business model will capitalise on its connectivity with the government and its unique insights into government policy choices to earn profits from Singaporeans and maybe foreigners.

As a GLC, a scholar preferably a high ranking officer in the SAF will be appointed CEO. As this GLC will be a pioneer in a new type of industry, a regulatory agency will be set to be headed by another scholar, preferably another high ranking officer in the SAF.

[I]ts business? To run a chain of love hotels situated in discrete areas in every part of Singapore in order to provide space for Singaporeans to have sex and hopefully produce babies. Like its fellow GLC, this newcomer to the stable of Temasek will derive its profits from Singaporeans through rent seeking. it is expected that its revenue stream is recession proof.

It is too early to to forecast if this new GLC will do an IPO.

Seriously, it lools like he’s turning stand-up comic like Tharman and other PAP ministers. Let’s wish him better luck. At least they have their million dollar salaries to fall back on when they flop. He’s only got his savings.

But he has serious message: how our GLCs make money,

Like most GLCs, its business model will capitalise on its connectivity with the government and its unique insights into government policy choices to earn profits from Singaporeans and maybe foreigners.

Only three S’porean GLCs make serious money overseas: Keppel (rig building), SembCorp (rig building and industrial parks in Vietnam) and SIA. And the first also has a big local property arm.

Going by what Andrew Loh has written, anti-PAPpies repent and say “Vote PAP” when they see that their medical bills are peanuts? LOL

I would have to pay S$2,348.71 in cash.

So, that’s for the angiography.

And

In the end, I pay $0 in cash. [He’s talking about his very complicated bypass]

As an aside, I would just like to add this: some people have criticised Medishield Life as a rip-off scheme. I don’t think it is. I do know that it is a lifesaver for many poor and elderly folks who worry themselves sick whenever they contemplate going to the doctor’s.

Medishield Life, which is not without flaws, does help, and remember that it is aimed at helping the less well-off with the bigger medical bills.

It is a basic insurance plan, not meant to be a comprehensive one.

For those who can afford it, go get the Integrated Shield Plans offered by insurance companies. They complement Medishield Life.

If you are unable to foot out a one lump sum to pay the bills, you can go to the hospital (mine is SGH) and apply to pay by installments, which is what I intend to do.

Ms Teo Soh Lung has republished on FB her piece on what to do if the police come calling to ask you to attend an interview. Piece is below.

While most who get called up for interview will not suffer what she and other “subversives” allege, it’s a useful guide to the procedure to expect at police interviews, and to your rights.

She has one good practical suggestions if one unlike me is KS

Never attend an interview alone. Always bring a friend or two. Your friend cannot be in the interview room but he can wait at the reception. If this is not possible, inform reliable friends to keep track of your attendance at the police station. Give them the particulars of police station and telephone number. If possible, the name of the officer in charge. Your friends should call the police station or officer regularly for updates.

And always do these

Wear comfortable warm clothings and shoes … You can request the officer to turn up the air-conditioner if you cannot bear the cold.

You are entitled to request for hot drinks and snacks if you are hungry. If your interview takes hours, you are also entitled to request for lunch and dinner.

Take toilet breaks.

Bring paper and pen to record the questions and answers.

[I got offered paper and pen by the police.]

Request for a copy of your signed statement if you sign any statement.

[And if the police refuse],

you can refuse to sign the statement. There is no rule to say that statements given to the police must be signed.

I can speak from personal experience. I was investigated by the CAD in the pre- internet era (circa 1995) and I didn’t receive a midnight knock, wasn’t put into ice cold rooms and interviews didn’t go on for hours.

The CAD were trying to establish if there was evidence that I had commited a crime, any crime. Fair enough as there was a third party complaint by SGX, Though, today where everything is virtual, I’d be really annoyed that my PC will be seized as a matter of routine. I use a dumphone and my laptop and “pad” are idle so that’s OK by me.

For the record, the CAD officially dropped the investigation. Ftr also, I told them what I was alleged to have done was not illegal.

Ms Teo’s piece:

Just in case more people are being hauled up to the police station, here are some quick points to note. Seasoned activists, please feel free to comment!
Every activist is prone to being summoned to the police station, usually to answer questions relating to the commission of an alleged offence. It is pretty routine and there is nothing to fear. Sometimes the police goes on a fishing trip hoping to catch someone through the statements collected from various people. Sometimes it is pure harassment.
An activist must be prepared for interviews at police stations. These are not to be taken lightly. There are a few basic things that he/she has to remember when summoned to answer about the commission of an alleged offence.
Letters to attend at police station
Letters from the police to attend an interview need not be physically delivered. They can be posted through ordinary snail mail. But often, the police have a lot of time in their hands and they may take a drive to your house. But this must never be midnight or early hours of the morning. If they do that, it is harassment and an abuse of police power.
Never open doors at midnight. Call the police and your friends. If they continue to bang loudly, telephone your friends for help. They should video the police outside your door. Have a Apps group so that one message goes out to the entire group.
It is possible to request for interviews to be conducted at a police station in your neighbourhood or near your home. If the appointment is not suitable, you can request for a change.
Interviews
Never attend an interview alone. Always bring a friend or two. Your friend cannot be in the interview room but he can wait at the reception. If this is not possible, inform reliable friends to keep track of your attendance at the police station. Give them the particulars of police station and telephone number. If possible, the name of the officer in charge. Your friends should call the police station or officer regularly for updates.
1. Keep your friends informed of developments, whether through telephone calls, facebook or messages.
2. Wear comfortable warm clothings and shoes. If your interview is at the Cantonment Police HQ, it is very cold. You can request the officer to turn up the air-conditioner if you cannot bear the cold.
3. You are entitled to request for hot drinks and snacks if you are hungry. If your interview takes hours, you are also entitled to request for lunch and dinner.
4. Take toilet breaks.
5. Bring paper and pen to record the questions and answers. As most of you know, Han Hui Hui had her notebook (the paper notebook not the computer) taken away after the interview. The police has no power to retain your properties as you have not committed any offence.
6. Request for a copy of your signed statement if you sign any statement. Often, the police will refuse to give this to you. In that case, you can refuse to sign the statement. There is no rule to say that statements given to the police must be signed.
7. Han Hui Hui was questioned from 2 to 10 pm. Eight hours is a long time and a bad reflection of the standard of our police force. I suspect that there was no pressure from outside to compel the police to finish their work earlier. If friends and family members telephone the police or attend at the police station earlier, this long interview may have been avoided.
8. Keep your answers short and never volunteer statements. If you have no knowledge, say so.
This is just a brief note.

Still shares have cheonged in recent months from S$0.11 cents to S$0.20 (now at 0.19)

For the half yr to end Junereported negative operating cash flow of $570m and a net loss of $14m. Its adjusted net debt, which counts inventories of oil and coal as cash, ballooned to US$2.4bn, more than its mkt cap, though the proceeds (US$800m ++) the recent sale (a crown jewel) should reduce the real net debt (excluding the inventories) by around 20%.

And if its accounting is to believed its NTA is around S$0.60 versus a mkt price of S$0.20.

Still an avoid as Noble Bahru has nothing to do with the old biz model of the Noble House.

You say one thing to cull off the AGM and then now you call for EOGM without making one attempt to engage in dialogue or consultation or discussion with us and come to some form of agreement on the proposed amendments.

If you can’t even consult with us on such stuff, can we trust your team to run FAS for the next 4 years and take on board the interest of the 46 stakeholders?

This is the final nail in your coffin of running FAS as your own kingdom without consultation with the real people that matter, the stakeholders. We need you and your team to be thrown out with the bath water!

We need a new team at FAS. This must not comprise even one of the existing incumbents.

I know you will go around to gain votes by promising the world and a little more but if you cannot be trusted to consult on the constitution, rest assured, it is my firm view you cannot be trusted to consult the stakeholders on all aspects of FAS for the next 4 years.

Also it’s appalling that FAS hires Fandi when the new team should determine the staff issues for the next 4 years. For the record you have shamelessly stolen this idea from Vengadasalam Rengayyan who proposed hiring Fandi Ahmad and making him an ambassador for Singapore Football. This was in our planned manifesto and Venga had spoken to Fandi Ahmad about this. Now you have hired him to go and … spread the incumbent’s FAS ” vision” and soften the ground with the stakeholders.

For the rest of the issues I have raised, read it for yourself on the New Paper report by Shamir Osman.

In S’pore in 2016, there was “cosiness”, not the meritocracy claimed by the bourgeois fascist dictatorship led by bureaucrat monopolist capitalists. The system rewarded mediocrity or even failure if one happened to be in the “right” circle.

Discuss.

==================

The FT reported in October 2016 that a group of neo-Maaoists held a secret meeting recently and denounced the present system in China. Their manifesto was a call for revolution to overthrow the current system, which they claimed had evolved into a “bourgeois fascist dictatorship led by bureaucrat monopolist capitalists”.

=====================

A student wrote the following essay that won the Mad Dog Chee prize that the first non-PAP PM, Dr Paul Anantharajah Tambyah, set up to commemorate Dr Chee.

Text of essay:

A columnist from the capitalist supporting Financial Times, Janan Ganesh, in 2016. wrote:

“Britain is not corrupt, as such. Laws on bribery and embezzlement are not routinely broken. The country does well in transparency rankings.

But what it lacks in venality, it makes up for in cosiness. Insiders look after each other and mediocrities fail upward, or at least sideways. The elite is only half-porous: it is possible to get in but not to fall out. There are plenty of second acts in these British lives. There is always a commission to chair, a university to head, a seat to take in a second chamber that now has almost 800 members keeping London’s livery tailors in profit. This is public service as a parallel welfare state for good eggs.”

Sounded like S’pore in 2016, it seemed to S’poreans who read the FT article. This cosiness wasn’t just a figment of the imagination of the anti-PAP cybernuts who helped the ruling Peoples’ Action Party’s maintain its grip on power (With enemies like them to alienate the swing voters, the PAP didn’t need friends).

The then PAP PM said that ministers who failed cannot be chucked out just like that. Their exits had to be “managed”. He said this after two ministers (the transport and public housing ministers) resigned after the PAP’s GE 2011 “defeat”. The “defeat” (only 60% of the popular vote voted PAP) was attributed to voters’ unhappiness with public housing prices and public treansport deficiencies.

In 2016, an ex-CEO of NOL, a shipping company (scholar, paper general and a Temasek MD) after losing his job when NOL was taken over got a cushy sinecure as a director of SPH, the owner of the media outlets that parroted thr PAP administration’s line.

And then there was Desmond Kwek the CEO of SMRT, a public transport company, another paper general, who kept his job despite failing to make the trains run on time.

I’ll let an alternative media outlet of the time, TRE, describe what happened to someone in the “right” circle who really failed in 2016

Cock-ups after Cock-ups

Mr Chew, who was previously with the Public Utilities Board (PUB) and Navy, joined LTA barely 2 years ago in October 2014.

During his two year term at LTA, Mr Chew presided over multiple cock-ups including the collapse of a temporary structure at the Bugis DTL work site which killed two workers, the discovery of extensive defective trains from China and attempt to secretly ship them back to their manufacturer, and the failure to resolve the perennial problem of taxi shortages on the roads.

In what appears to be a move to appease increasing public anger over the record-breaking failures of the public transport system, especially the SMRT, the Chief Executive Officer of the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has tendered his resignation yesterday (5th Aug).

…

Coffee shop gossips have it that the CEO has been ‘fingered’ as the ‘fall guy’ to take the blame for the countless failures in the public transport system and did not resigned voluntarily as Mr Chew claims.

“Who in his right state of mind would want to resign from a lucrative paying job that comes with so much authority?”, some uncles and aunties commented.

Some however, speculated that he has voluntarily committed ‘harakiri’ out of his own conscious [“conscience” is what he must have meant], following the foot steps of former Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew.

TRE went on to describe “cosiness” S’pore style:

Members of ‘men-in-white’ club never go jobless

The 48-year-old did not mention where he was heading for, but it is a known fact that members of the ‘men-in-white’ club will never go jobless and arrangement will be made for an alternate posting to some GLCs. It is believed that Mr Chew might join Singapore Technologies. [Chew had said he was going into the private sector.]

Only in a bourgeois fascist dictatorship led by bureaucrat monopolist capitalists would ST qualify as a private sector co. It was owned by the state.

Thankfully in 2026, Mad Dog Chee and Harry’s daughter (she was the chief priestess of the cult of worshippers of Harry Lee Kuan Yew, the founder of the PAP) brought the edifice of a bourgeois fascist dictatorship led by bureaucrat monopolist capitalists down, albeit at the cost of their own lives.

The subsequent general election brought Dr Paul Anantharajah Tambyah’s PAP Bahru (Slogan: “Whiter than White and a Lot More Compassionate”) remade S’pore into the compassionate place it is, with admittedly a standard of living today that is below of of London and NY (OK closer to that of Calcutta and Bombay) than today’s global cities of Rangoon, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

I’m very happy that Fandi will be responsible for local youth football. See below* a comment by Edwin Tong MP who I did not realise until I read the FB u/m post was involved with the FAS.

But I cannot help but think that the bad publicity the FAS has been receiving over

— the proposed changes to its constitution;

— an AGM that was over almost as soon as it started;

— that there will teams contesting to run the FAS**and

— the “peanuts” ($70,000 a year) being spent on local footie compared to the high salaries of the top five officials (around $1.5m a year) and the millions amount spent on the Lions XII (money well spent in my view),

was responsible for this piece of good news for local football.

FAS needed some good publicity and what better way than to wheel out kampong boy made good who then fell on hard times and then recovered (whether with or without FAS’s help has been a point of contention and bad blood between the two***), and now has a FAS pension.

What do u think?

Here’s another question: Is Mah Bow Tan (Remember his 1998 call for S’pore to play in the 2010 World Cup?) advising China on its bid to win World Cup by 2031? This tot struck me when I read a BBC report that Chinese fans are outraged that China lost to Syria lessening its chances of playing in the next World Cup Thttp://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-37582501

——

*Edwin Tong
5 hrs ·
TNP website
·
I am very glad that we have managed to agree a long term deal with Fandi, to have him oversee youth football in Singapore over the next few years. In all our discussions, it was always made clear that the FAS wanted him to stay. And on his part, as he says, his heart was always set on staying, even as many good offers came pouring in for him. He grew up in the kampongs here. Didn’t start with much, but made such a difference to Singapore football when he was playing in the fabled No.17 shirt. Now, we look forward to Fandi inspiring a whole new generation of young, talented and precocious footballers in Singapore. All the best!

**Those of us who had dealings with Bill Ng in his stockbroking days can testify that he is a talk cock sing song artiste, No Action, Talk Only. He’s carried this over to footie mgt: witness his so-called bid for the storied Rangers FC, and the absence of his slate to run FAS at the AGM. He’s a used car salesman.

I predict that his slate will not materialise.

***For what’s it worth, I think FAS did help him financially. But he tot he deserved more.On that point I don’t know.

On 4 Oct, UK Guardian wrote Last week, Duterte said the joint US-Philippine combat exercises to be held this week, the first of his presidency, would also be the last of his tenure. The exercises, centering on amphibious landing drills, started Tuesday under some uncertainty because of those remarks.

….

US embassy officials said Washington had not been formally notified by the Philippine government of any move to scrap other planned drills.

What the LTA says is going to happen is not the what the SDP claims is going to happen.

Below is the SDP’s claim that the Bukit Panjang Light Rail Transit (BPLRT) system is going to be scrapped and that this is a waste of money. It goes on to say

There are many train systems all over the world much older than the one in BP that are still running. Some were built in the 19th century with wooden carriages powered by steam engines when they first started.

But the trains kept running because innovative minds re-engineered and made improvements to the systems. There is a strong sense of pride in the work done in these places, something that is obviously missing under the PAP’s leadership in Singapore.

Sadly for someone (me) who wants an end to the PAP’s hegemony and for the Oppo to gain cred with the middle ground, the SDP is at the very least guilty of misrepresentation.

This is because according to a BT (or ST?) report “Bukit Panjang LRT may be scrapped: SMRT company blog” the LTA is also thinking of extending the working life of the line and upgrading it, not juz getting rid of it.

In an internal LTA SMRT blog

SMRT Trains managing director Lee Ling Wee said a joint team is reviewing the future of the system with a view to giving it a major overhaul.

“It will be more than just a makeover,” Mr Lee wrote, adding that the 17-year-old system is near “the end of its design life”.

Two, build a new LRT system with significant design enhancements in key infrastructures such as power supply, signalling, rolling stock, tracks and stations.

Three, to renew the existing Bombardier system with a more updated signalling system – allowing trains to be tracked more accurately, and to ply at a higher frequency.

Mr Lee said that an idea to do away with the entire LRT system was also mooted and for residents in the Bukit Panjang area to go back to riding buses.

Isn’t

to deploy self-powered autonomous guided vehicle on the existing viaduct

or

to renew the existing Bombardier system with a more updated signalling system – allowing trains to be tracked more accurately, and to ply at a higher frequency

what the SDP accusing it of not doing?

There are many train systems all over the world much older than the one in BP that are still running. Some were built in the 19th century with wooden carriages powered by steam engines when they first started.

But the trains kept running because innovative minds re-engineered and made improvements to the systems.

Dr Chee is KPKBing that he and the SDP lack cred with the voting public because they are fixed by the Chiams, and the PAP and its media allies. He should put his own house in order before throwing stones.

With enemies like the SDP and Dr Chee, the PAP doesn’t need friends. The PAP is really lucky.

—————————–

*Singapore Democrats

The idea of scrapping the Bukit Panjang Light Rail Transit (BPLRT) system is typical of the malaise and lack of direction that has enveloped the present government.

Unable to think outside the box and come up with viable solutions to make things work, the PAP chooses instead to waste public funds by ditching the nearly $300 million system.

The SMRT, under the governance of the Land Transport Authority, gives the excuse that the BPLRT has come to the end of its 20-year design lifespan and therefore should be discarded.

This is an affront to common sense. There are many train systems all over the world much older than the one in BP that are still running. Some were built in the 19th century with wooden carriages powered by steam engines when they first started.

But the trains kept running because innovative minds re-engineered and made improvements to the systems. There is a strong sense of pride in the work done in these places, something that is obviously missing under the PAP’s leadership in Singapore.

The truth is that the BPLRT system has been plagued with problems right from the beginning and the authorities have been unable and unwillingly to fix its regular and frequent breakdowns, preferring to focus on making a profit off the system.

This is similar to the regular and frequent breakdowns of the MRT experienced nationwide. The inability resolve the sorry state of affairs of the system is not because of the design lifespan of the trains or the tracks – platform doors are even falling off in the brand new Downtown Line.

Rather, the source of the problem is the incompetence of the government to put together a team of able leaders and to marshal resources to deal with the malfunctions.

Instead of tackling the problem head on, the PAP chooses the easy way out – abandoning the entire system. Such a move means that hundreds of millions of dollars of the public funds will be flushed down the drain. While money is easy to come by for the government through the raising of fees and taxes, it is something that Singaporeans toil for.

The SDP calls on the PAP to not take the people’s hard earned money for granted and earnestly look into to fixing the problems of the BPLRT and MRT.

An awesome WWII story of an English China-born dog that was stuck here.

A post from a FB close group

An important part of history not many in Singapore knew. Picked up this book by chance at the library today. Fantastic read, couldn’t put it down.

A remarkable English dog, born in Shanghai, became a naval ship dog, soon landed on Singapore Keppel Harbour during WW2, she came to serve in Singapore during the war but instead Singapore was swiftly attacked, she survived the Japanese bombings on their ship which sank, became POW in Sumatra, survived Japanese brutalities, was sneaked back into Singapore by her companions whom she also loyally protected against the Japanese, the bunch were again shipped to Sumatra to work on the death rail before finally being liberated and sent back to Singapore again to be sent home to Britain via Singapore’s port. The world’s only POW dog and her fate with Singapore is surprising & miraculous that she survived the horrible war with her companions. Read the book or more info about her amazing story here:https://www.gov.uk/…/judy-the-dog-who-became-a-prisoner-of-…

had a S$700 million ($522 million) exposure to the Swiber group of companies and expected to recover roughly half, given some was secured by assets. That amount represents 92 percent of Swiber’s $567 million in total equity at the end of the first quarter, the last time it reported its financial position. It also probably means that just over half of all the leases, borrowings and notes payable reported by Swiber were owed to DBS.

Any credit officer should balk at a lender being in charge of more than half the debt of an entire company. It gets worse, however, because on top of that, Swiber’s debt had already become much larger than its equity, a sign the bank should have considered scaling back its exposure.

When it comes to the education system, parents need to ask some very blunt questions to themselves

1) What’s the real reason for education and must they spend a fortune for tuition classes

2) Do the kids benefit with all this tuition? Or is it because Singapore doesn’t have facilities for playing outdoors?

3)Why bother with tuition if there’s a cap on admissions to university? Frankly a lot of kids should go into the trades make as much money as a doctor with far less hassles. And repairmen can’t be outsourced to another country. [Err but FT labour can be imported to keep the pay of local plumbers etc down. Ask the local IT people. In the early and mid 90s, local IT professionals often with only poly diplomas earned more than grads in other lines of work because management didn’t know a server from a PC. Then came the Indian FTs by the cattle-truck load.]

4) Nowadays nobody cares what grades you have bosses want to know are you personable can you do the job can you think on your own and take the initiative can you learn can you work in a time and on your own. [But the basic qualification for getting that job, any job, keeps rising. A masters is now the entry point for many jobs. There are juz too many people with basic degrees. Even SIA cabin staff need a poly diploma to be considered for receuitment]

5) Lastly why are the kids with yhe real difficulties eiter with learning disabiliyies or family problems never helped? The focus is on yhe brains and stars who don’t need help

Frankly I find too many kids too shy and too fearful to make mistakes or get out of their comfort zone.

Update on 9 October at 5.30 pm: I came across this very good point by a TRE reader who responded to the above when TRE used the above

Tertiary educated Singaporeans cannot expect to have the same outcome in 2030 (when there will be huge supply) as compared with 1970 (when there was a tight supply). It doesn’t add up and just will not happen. So do not waste time asking for the impossible. PAP and all the opposition parties cannot deliver this.

SKETCH GUY

By CARL RICHARDS

Humility, in personal finance, is knowing how to ask for help when you don’t know something, even when you think you should know it.

This is a dumb ass remark from a SMU finance professor: “For financially-savvy investors, they need to know what they’re buying into and not just look at the yields,” said Benedict Koh, a professor of finance at Singapore Management University.

I mean how he can anyone “financially-savvy” who buys only for yields?

I agree absolutely with long-time Singapore political observer Bridget Welsh who said Tharman’s popularity

“stems from his support of spending for social welfare and services…

My question for those who think the light shines from Tharman’s ass (but who are otherwise rational) is, “Would they want him to be PM if he had been Scrooge? If there had been more GST increases and less welfare spending?

I mean who was the Finance Minister who raised GST two points from five to seven percent?

He’s been Santa since then because PAP administration decided to be generous. It wasn’t his decision alone.

Rational S’poreans who want Tharman to be PM should take note that even cybernuts want him to be PM. To me this shows that the the wish for Tharman to be PM has irrational foundations.

Aye Tharman, why you like that one, you got clear mandate** from the people but also don’t want be PM. You say you not PM de ‘liao’ and not interested, but how you know when you never even try leh?**

One of the readers of The Idiots — S’pore (or TISG as it likes ro be known), no idiot he wrote in Facebook:

He may b the best amongst them but he certainly is no different from them. When u have been immersed in secretive n know your position cultural environment for so long, there is no way u can avoid these.

I hope his groupies who think the light shines from Tharman’s ass realise that the light from his ass is the light from an in-coming train, not the end of PAP hegemony; and not fantasise about how good life would be under him.

Let me clear, I’m not anti- Tharman. I think Tharman would make a decent PM , but so would Khaw.

I suspect the real reason why the cybernuts and the many rational S’poreans who vote “Anyone but the PAP even if he’s a looney, crook or Goh Meng Seng” want him as PM is because he’s an Indian. To them an Indian PM would be giving the finger to the PAP who still says S’pore is not ready for a non-Chinese PM.

A form of racism as despicable as that of the PAP, methinks.

——————————-

*Bridget Welsh went on:

and management of the economy, as well as his ability to bridge groups as a more liberal and open leader compared to his peers”*.

But “as an elite-orientated party, the PAP categorically rejects selection by popular opinion,” said Welsh, a Southeast Asian politics expert at the National Taiwan University.

“Tharman is too liberal, too popular, and an ethnic minority – all features that do not fit with today’s hardline PAP,” she added.

**What clear mandate? Since when have surveys esp by The Idiots — S’pore

***The certified cybernut went on

I remember last time you say when you very young, you didn’t know what is your ambition, now also suka suka become DPM, just one level higher also don’t want. You also not very old, Trump, Clinton and Sanders all older than you but they also want to be USA president. Now only ask you be PM of Singapore also kpkb? Singapore cabinet ageist is it?

Also I see you quite fit leh, confirm can live very long one. But you rather let one of the other not-as-experience people become PM. All of them not as charismatic as you, not as yandao as you and lack much standing internationally. I know alot of opposition also want you become PM. Only you can gel all Singaporeans together.

Imagine you let one of the others become PM, PAP will confirm lose support and Singapore will become more divisive politically. You want that to happen meh? Or you become PM first la, you can still mentor them, then when one of them earn enough respect from the people then you step down also no problem what.

I also dunno why LHL want to have minority president to prove meritocracy, but this will only be tokenism. But if you become PM, this will be the epitome of true meritocracy of Singapore. I think you lan lan must become PM lah!

When I was young, LKY had the “Eat more wheat campaign” to break the rice bowls of the Teochew rice merchants. He didn’t like them momopolising the rice trade with Thailand. He said they were gourging S’poreans.

Well it seems the Indons took his advice to eat more wheat. As for the Peenoys, they as usual imitate ang mohs.

But first and as a background to the ST story, can believe UOB survey on education or not?

Err maybe sour grapes? Kids not smart enough?

About four in five parents here believe career success is no longer driven just by academic achievements, a recent survey has found.

Instead, they recognise the importance of discovering their children’s passions and talents early on. But only half are familiar with their children’s talents. In addition, nearly one in five parents is unsure how to tap his child’s potential.

The survey, conducted by the United Overseas Bank (UOB) in May, gathered responses from 447 parents with children aged 12 and below, on their attitudes towards their children’s future success.

(ST report last week)

My question is whether how many of the kids of the local parents who took part the survey got into an elite school (RI, St Nick, MGS, SCGS), near elite achools (Hwa Chong,TKGS, ACIS (I)) or neighbourhood schools. Bet u those whose kids got into the near-elite and neighbourhood schools say grades not that impt. To say otherwise would imply that they consider their kids “Bodoh” or “Char tow”; or that they as parents failed as commando drill instructors; or that they denigrate their kids.

The reality

A recent government survey shows that families in Singapore collectively spend about $1.1bn Singapore dollars ($827m; £526m) a year on private tuition, nearly double the amount from a decade ago.

…

“kids who grow up in Singapore start running the rat race from an early age” … there was always a subliminal pressure from society to get good grades.”

…

[But] parents and students often fuel the stress about grades because of a narrow definition of what success can be.”

Seriously, waz funny is that the story quoted (and featured) an ang moh, who may or not be S’porean. Bet u she’s not.

Ms Emily Mathews, a mother of two boys aged 10 and 12, said: “When parents realise that grades are not everything, kids are hopefully more exposed and encouraged to follow their interests, and not necessarily take the conventional routes.”

The 38-year-old risk manager said her sons have a flair for sports. She has been investing time and money to get them involved in sports such as rugby and mixed martial arts, and will continue to encourage them to pursue these interests.

Ang mohs come from a different planet. S’porean parents usually aim for the their kids to do well in commando-style academic courses, only mad-mouthing this training if kids don’t make the grade into elite schools.

And if they kids do make the grade, these parents take it as a matter of course, thanking God, not their “pressure” and expectations.

Earlier this year, I was talking to a single mum (divorced or separated) who has two well rounded (they have interesting non-academic interests: music and drama. The RI gal does Mui Thai during the hols) but really smart kids, she said when I praised her kids “Thank God, they are so matured.” One daughter is now in RI Pre U (medicine, I think) and the other is doing the 6-yr IB at MGS.

Payment performance of local firms “deteriorated strongly” year-on-year in the third quarter of 2016, said the Singapore Commercial Credit Bureau (SCCB) in data released on Monday (Oct 3).

Prompt payments declined to about 42.18 per cent of total payment transactions in the third quarter, compared to a year ago when 51.05 per cent paid their bills on time. Slow payments also rose, accounting for more than two-fifths of payment transactions in the same period.

Salaries in Singapore are set to rise 4 per cent next year, compared to an average of 5.9 per cent across the Asia-Pacific region, according to a survey released on Tuesday (Oct 4).

After taking into account Singapore’s inflation forecast of 0.8 per cent, salaries in the city-state are expected to rise 3.2 per cent, the survey by professional services company Willis Towers Watson found.

The above made me think that if the PAPpies are really that smart (as they say there are), and evil (as the cybernuts say they are) CPF should be restructured so that a S’porean will be allowed to live for as long as there is money in his or her account. When the annuity stops because there is no more money left in the account, the S’porean like Boxer gets send to the slaughter-house.

It’s a more sophisticated (albeit more in line with Harry’s thuggish ways of using his hatchet) version of what I’ve suggested before: that if the PAP is really pragmatic it would follow the solution in the movie Soylent Green. Us plebs are encouraged to move on and our bodies then made into food for the other plebs.

New M’sian Muslim Oppo party spurned by Malay voters. This is what an ISEAS report says

“Will Malaysia’s New Islamist Party Reshape the Political Landscape?” by Hew Wai Weng is now out and downloadable at this link.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• On 16 September 2015, a group of dissatisfied leaders of Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) left the party to form Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah). This comes in the wake of the demise of the opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

• This new party, along with the recently formed UMNO-splinter party, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), can potentially reshape the Malay Muslim political landscape.

• Making common cause with the other parties that had constituted PR, namely the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Parti KeAdilan Rakyat (KeAdilan), Amanah helped found Pakatan Harapan, effectively replacing PAS in the opposition coalition.

• Quickly put to the test in two simultaneous by-elections in the semi-rural constituencies of Sungai Besar in Selangor and Kuala Kangsar in Perak, Amanah managed to win about two-thirds of Chinese votes but secured less than 10 per cent of the Malay Muslim vote.

• Amanah promotes an inclusive and democratic Islamism and upholds Maqasid Sharia, which focuses on issues such as social justice and good governance. It faces difficult challenges though. The party lacks resources to gain grassroots support and improve its electoral machinery and needs to enhance its Islamic credibility in order to compete with PAS.

• The first-past-the-post electoral system practised in Malaysia also leaves little room for new parties to grow.

We know that the PAP;s senior leaders have to multitask because of a lack of trustworthy, competent people (Juz look at the potential successors to PM — more below). PM is the PM, Sec-Gen of the PAP, chairman of GIC and chairman of PA. Teo and Tharman are DPMs and

— Teo is also the Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister-in-charge of the Civil Service.

— Tharman is the Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies and Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Tharman was also covering between May and August Heng Swee Keat’s duties at the Finance Ministry after Heng had a stroke during a Cabinet meeting.

The Minister for Pets is the Law and Home Affairs minister. I mean the welfare of pets and their owners is a full-time job, not like the job of keeping the Indians, Malays and Eurasians happy.

Meanwhile at ISIS

One of the reasons why those leaders held many different roles before their deaths was that the group relied on those it trusted the most to handle its operations.

,,,

Adnani, for example, was the group’s spokesman but also its general emir in Syria and the man in charge of foreign operations orchestrated from Syria, primarily in Western countries.

…

Another example of IS relying on long-standing leaders to handle several roles was Abu Ali al-Anbari, who blew himself up after US forces ambushed him near the Syria-Iraq border in March.

Before his death, according to a detailed obituary published by the group’s Arabic-language al-Naba newsletter, Anbari had been asked to leave his role as a preacher in his hometown, Tal Afar near Mosul, and take on responsibility for management of IS finances.

At least ISIS has the excuse that finding trustworthy and competent leaders willing to die for the cause is a problem. I mean who doesn’t want be a multi-millionaire?

Both have succession problems

At ISIS, the assassinations by the US have meant

The loss of the old guard is clearly aggravating the group’s problems and might represent the greatest challenge it has faced since the US-enabled uprising against it by Sunni Arabs in Iraq in 2005-6.

Whether the group will survive this transition depends on how far the old guard shaped and defined it.

The transition to the second and third tiers of leadership is already well under way, and the process could affect the overall direction IS takes and the way it operates.

The emerging leaders grew up within the group as it moved from a foreign franchise established by jihadist veterans to a predominantly Iraqi insurgent group, and then back to a hybrid local group with a global agenda.

Many of them also grew up under the US occupation in Iraq and in an environment shaped by sectarian tensions and civil wars.

Meanwhile in the PAP, PM is already talking of the transition to the next generation. Fair enough given his problems with cancer and with his very entitled little sister.

Actually the three paper generals should join The Idiots — S’pore (or TISG as it prefers to be known) given their track record. Ong Ye Kung is also a possible candidate for The Idiots —S’pore. To be fair to The Idiots — S’pore, they’ve had 4 weeks free of major lies or mishaps, a recent record.

Whatever, ISIS would never have recruited these potential PMs if they were Muslim jihadists, even to be suicide bombers. They’d blow up their comrades.

If a driver operating Caterpillar equipment in a remote mine, or driving a truck down a highway for a long time, starts to feel sleepy, his head may briefly slump, or his eyes divert away from their main focus.

However brief that moment, back at Caterpillar’s headquarters in Peoria, Illinois, a sensor can detect the movement, register it and respond by sending a prod, such as a vibration, into the cab to rouse the driver, improving efficiency and safety. This is thanks to a collaboration with Seeing Machines that began in 2013.

Can someone forward this to the PM and the Public Service Commission? We are using the wrong method to choose “Top performers”.

What the graphic shows is that “Behavioural profiling plus targeted training”and “Behavioural profiling” are better ways of choosing “Top performers”. Our scholar system (primarily reliant on selection by academic results) is better at identifying “Low performers” and “Middle Performers”.

Btw the PAP administration which loves parachuting paper generals to run ministries, TLCs and GLCs ahould reflect on: “[N]ot screwing up is an important characteristic for bosses of mature” business. So says FT’s Lombard, a very droll person.

This means they are not the right people when changes are afoot, Think the labour market, MOL and SMRT for starters.

Based on the present form of the paper generals performance as ministers and CEOs, we should be worried about our security. Thank God, we have Indonesia, as a “hostile” neighbour.